Neil Druckmann Discusses The Last of Us: Part II's Story, New Infected, and New Human Enemy AI

The Last of Us was one of Naughty Dog's big successes on the PS3. Coming out when the PS4 was about to be released and its sequel repeating the same release pattern many are excited to see how the story will play out. As Naughty Dog has confirmed that the popular multiplayer mode won't be part of The Last of Us Part II and instead will be single-player only.

In a recent interview, director Neil Druckmann explained how the story of The Last of Us: Part II changed since its conception in 2013, Ellie's evolution from the first game to the sequel, and new gameplay elements.

During the interview Druckmann explained how when meeting Ashley Johnson, who plays Ellie, was brought to tears when the prequel DLC, Left Behind, was pitched to her.

“I met with Ashley Johnson and I pitched her the idea for Left Behind,” says Druckmann. “And I told her I had something else I was working on and I pitched her that idea. So she’s there in the restaurant crying, and I’m thinking ‘I hope people don’t think I’m doing something horrible.’ But that’s the first time I remember having some strong idea.”

Druckmann who go on to explain how Ellie's relationship with Joel was established. With the character latching onto Joel since he's the only one in Ellie's life that hasn't died but their relationship has changed since the events from the first game till now.

The series’ canvas shoe-wearing protagonist has changed a lot since her cross-country journey with Joel. “I think she’s really come into her own,” Druckmann says.

“In the first game she’s trying to find someone to rely on,” Druckmann says. “She tells Joel that ‘everyone I’ve ever known has died or left me, everyone except for you.’ She kind of latches onto Joel.”

Ellie and Joel’s relationship is strained at the beginning of The Last of Us Part II. Her new life in Jackson, Wyoming affords her a chance to make new connections with the survivors living there. And she’s grown especially close to one fellow resident.

“Dina becomes this best friend she’s now had for years,” Druckmann says. “They flirt with each other, but Ellie doesn’t quite know where this girl stands. We see that Dina feels very similarly to Ellie.”

Ultimately, Ellie’s relatively comfortable, “normal” life in this post-pandemic world isn’t destined to last. Druckmann alludes to a terrible incident that ignites Ellie on a deadly quest for revenge.

“Ellie wants to make it right by bringing the people responsible to justice, even if she has to go at it alone,” Druckmann says.

Druckmann didn't only talk about the story. He explained some new gameplay systems, such as new infected called Shamblers that burst into a gas cloud of acid. And other infected can burst through the cloud while the player suffers damage for getting too close.

“We have Runners that close the distance quickly,” says Druckman. “We have Clickers that move slowly but are one-hit kills. Shamblers provide this area of attack, where they have this cloud of gaseous acid that burns materials around it. It burns your skin. The way you saw it in this demo is that they’re mostly on their own. It gets really interesting because you have a cloud that hurts you when you enter it, but it also blocks your view, then Runners burst through it. So the combinations get really interesting.”

The human enemies have also evolved. We saw this during the E3 2018 trailer where the humans would constantly give reports of their actions, search underneath cover, and alert one another when one of them suddenly disappeared. This system reminded me a lot of Metal Gear Solid V, where the enemy AI would change their patterns when seeing an enemy down, a report was not given, or lost communication. 

“We want to treat violence as realistically as we can in an action game,” Druckmann says. “One example is that every human enemy in the game features a unique name, such as Omar, or Joe. For Naughty Dog, implementing this was a nontrivial task. “[This was] a big effort that required not only new tech, but a lot of recording investment …. The way they communicate is much more sophisticated.. We do that in order to make you feel it’s not just like an NPC or braindead obstacle.”

I'm excited for The Last of Us: Part II, and this information from Neil Druckmann has me more enthusiastic about this title. Naughty Dog already has an acclaimed reputation for some of the greatest IPs in gaming and The Last of Us: Part II is shaping into becoming a contender for best game of this generation.

The Last of Us: Part II launches on February 21st for PS4.

Adam Siddiqui,
Senior Editor, NoobFeed
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